Low-fat diet more effective than low-carb diet for losing body fat

When it comes to weight loss, opinions are divided as to what the best diet is for reducing body fat. To investigate, a team of researchers compared a low-fat diet with a low-carbohydrate diet, finding that cutting fat intake resulted in greater body fat loss.

The small but precise study, published in Cell Metabolism, assessed the weight loss of 19 obese adults who were confined to a metabolic ward for two 2-week periods.

Kevin Hall, a metabolism researcher at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), states that many people have strong beliefs about what matters for weight loss, yet the data these opinions are based upon are sometimes lacking.

"I wanted to rigorously test the theory that carbohydraterestriction is particularly effective for losing body fat since this idea has been influencing many people's decisions about their diets," he explains.